To refresh everyone's memory, Betty Cash was the one who encountered a diamond shaped UFO in Texas near Houston in 1980. Along with her grandson and another family member.

She saw military helicopters afterwards. She basically then had radiation sickness problems the rest of her life.

I was just curious if any ex military people have any thoughts on what she might have encountered, because her description of the UFO is not really consistent with anything I've ever heard. I'm pretty sure it wasn't extraterrestrial in this case. Predictably the air force denied anything ever happened.

There was also a guy in Canada in another case who had similar issues after a UFO encounter in another Unsolved Mysteries case, I can't recall his name except that he spoke several languages trying to communicate with the craft, saw part of the inside, it took off and burned him pretty badly in the process. Although the craft he encountered did not match the description of the one Betty Cash saw I think it is worth mentioning cause both had significant radiation related illnesses following

Any ex military or experts familiar with radiation have any idea what they may have encountered? Not asking for classified info or particulars of course, just curious if anyone has any knowledge of the military testing craft that might cause radiation.

The reason I think someone might know is that I heard ex military putting out theories that the Kecksburg UFO may have been some sort of re-entry craft, can't recall the name of it though.

I am highly skeptical of this story for one big reason: Betty Cash refused to make her medical records public. Granted, that is her right. But if you claim that a UFO potentially piloted by the American government gave you radiation poisoning, wouldn't you want to provide proof of that? The Texas Department of Health got involved immediately after Betty filed a complaint, and they were stonewalled by an investigator (who not so coincidentally was a big UFO believer) who was helping Betty Cash and Vickie Landrum with the case. He wouldn't turn over their medical records, and also claimed that neither woman could remember the specific location of the alleged sighting.

You can read more about it here (https://badufos.blogspot.com/2013/11/between-beer-joint-and-some-kind-of.html).

I thought the sighting location was identified by the Road being burned where Betty told him the incident happened.

I always believed this happened and that it was an experimental top secret craft that something went wrong with it that night.

I also forgot to mention that when they were interviewed by the Air Force, they were adamant that the helicopters they saw chasing the UFO had "United States Air Force" spelled out in large lettering on the side. They said they were twin rotor helicopters. But during the time of the alleged sighting, the Air Force did not have any twin rotor helicopters and their lettering on the helicopters they did have was small and no person would have been able to make them out from the ground (especially at night).

It's also interesting to me that the government actually went out of their way to investigate this case and/or pass the information along to someone who would. That's a big reason why the Air Force brought them in for questioning, so they could use their own words against them in their lawsuit.

TheCars1986 beat me when he posted that link. In doing some googling, I came up with this piece (that takes a more benign/sympathetic view)

https://skeptoid.com/episodes/4652

TheCars1986 beat me when he posted that link. In doing some googling, I came up with this piece (that takes a more benign/sympathetic view)

https://skeptoid.com/episodes/4652

I think that Betty Cash and Vickie Landrum believed that they saw a UFO that night, and kind of exaggerated their claims after the fact. The illnesses were looked at, and a radiologist said that they would have died if they had been exposed to radiation at the levels that would have caused their illnesses. Besides their accounts, there was never any real evidence presented which backed up their claims. And multiple government agencies investigated this incident.

I don't know what to make of this one. Much of it screams hoax.

However.. 3 people. 2 of whom are dead now and it continues.. One who was a child at the time.. I suppose it would be easier to trick a child, and I certainly don't think that Chase(?) is making it up.

I don't know what to make of this one. Much of it screams hoax.

However.. 3 people. 2 of whom are dead now and it continues.. One who was a child at the time.. I suppose it would be easier to trick a child, and I certainly don't think that Chase(?) is making it up.

In the released Air Force interview transcript, when the interviewer asks Vickie to describe the helicopters she saw in detail, she starts to describe it and her grandson interrupts and says, "it's like the one we saw land in Dayton" and she immediately shushes him. Found that pretty interesting too.

OK, I'm not sure their account is accurate. However; these three DID get exposed to enough radiation to cause longterm (and in two cases terminal) health problems so does anyone have any hypotheses where (and to what) these three might have been exposed to instead of the alleged aircraft?

OK, I'm not sure their account is accurate. However; these three DID get exposed to enough radiation to cause longterm (and in two cases terminal) health problems so does anyone have any hypotheses where (and to what) these three might have been exposed to instead of the alleged aircraft?

There's no certainty that they were exposed to radiation.

We also don't know details of the 'health problems' that they suffered from. I mean, Vickie was 83 when she passed in 2007. Not exactly a short life. Betty Jean died at 69.. a little on the low end of average lifespan.

This whole thing smells.. I just can't figure out which side the stink is coming from.

This whole thing smells.. I just can't figure out which side the stink is coming from.

HAHAHA! That is perfect! :lol: I agree that someone is hiding an awful lot, but at this point it's hard to say who.

Thanks for all of the info, Cars. I had no idea there was so much ambiguity and discrepancies with their story. I agree that people may not want their medical records released publicly, but in this case it smacks of trying to hide what the true nature of their medical issues was.

OK, I'm not sure their account is accurate. However; these three DID get exposed to enough radiation to cause longterm (and in two cases terminal) health problems so does anyone have any hypotheses where (and to what) these three might have been exposed to instead of the alleged aircraft?

The doctors who examined them said that if they were exposed to enough radiation to cause vomiting, diarrhea, and hair loss that the levels would have been so high that they would have been dead in 3 days or less. They lived full lives, so there was never any proof that they were exposed to radiation.

The doctors who examined them said that if they were exposed to enough radiation to cause vomiting, diarrhea, and hair loss that the levels would have been so high that they would have been dead in 3 days or less. They lived full lives, so there was never any proof that they were exposed to radiation.

It almost sounds like chemical and/or heat exposure and not true radiation. I read a bunch of books about Chernobyl after watching the HBO series, and yeah, if the immediate symptoms were that severe they would have had to have a fatal dose of radiation. They could have had some kind of exposure to other hazardous materials which could cause those symptoms but wouldn't do the deep tissue damage like radiation.

So that begs the questions: 1) What did cause the medical issues? 2) Why would they make it up? Publicity? Money? Something else?

It seems like such an elaborate and detailed story so I wonder what their motive was (assuming it wasn't true). I'd also like to know what the true extent of the medical issues were.

It almost sounds like chemical and/or heat exposure and not true radiation.

One of the doctors that examined them said that they believed the chemical that could have been used to create those symptoms without any serious health issues was if someone were to drink a household cleaner. And Betty's hair falling out was the result of alopecia, which she had bouts with prior to this incident.

There was also a guy in Canada in another case who had similar issues after a UFO encounter in another Unsolved Mysteries case, I can't recall his name except that he spoke several languages trying to communicate with the craft, saw part of the inside, it took off and burned him pretty badly in the process. Although the craft he encountered did not match the description of the one Betty Cash saw I think it is worth mentioning cause both had significant radiation related illnesses following


Falcon Lake UFO - Stephen Michalak

https://unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/Falcon_Lake_UFO

The doctors who examined them said that if they were exposed to enough radiation to cause vomiting, diarrhea, and hair loss that the levels would have been so high that they would have been dead in 3 days or less. They lived full lives, so there was never any proof that they were exposed to radiation.


The problem I have with that statement.. Don't people undergoing cancer treatments have those EXACT side effects?

Of course.. Their radiation is much more focused, whereas this would be full body exposure.. and I think many of those side effects may be more on the chemo than the radiation side.

So.. I'm not sure I buy into that.. but.. I also don't quite buy into the large number of helicopters that.. Seemingly couldn't possibly have happened.

The problem I have with that statement.. Don't people undergoing cancer treatments have those EXACT side effects?

Of course.. Their radiation is much more focused, whereas this would be full body exposure.. and I think many of those side effects may be more on the chemo than the radiation side.

So.. I'm not sure I buy into that.. but.. I also don't quite buy into the large number of helicopters that.. Seemingly couldn't possibly have happened.

Here are quotes from 2 different doctors who examined Betty Cash:

Betty's arms [showed] discrete, round, sunburn-type rashes that immediately caused me to suspect that she had created them by covering her arms with a garment containing circular cutouts and then exposing herself to sunlight (or a sunlamp).

I think it is important to assure Betty that on the basis of the medical information you have provided me, that there are no signs of serious injury to date. You may also reassure Vicki that her cataract was probably a pre-existing condition and not necessarily related to her incident.

That second quote was omitted in the book written about about the case to play up the "radiation" angle. If they in fact were exposed to radiation, I doubt a doctor would conclude that "there are no signs of serious injury to date".

In the released Air Force interview transcript, when the interviewer asks Vickie to describe the helicopters she saw in detail, she starts to describe it and her grandson interrupts and says, "it's like the one we saw land in Dayton" and she immediately shushes him. Found that pretty interesting too.

I don't think the Air Force has EVER had Chinooks. Interesting that they described them as having 'United States Air Force' painted on the side--I always remembered seeing 'USAF' primarily. Maybe it was different in '80. Either way, it piques my interest that by the time of the UM segment, the women described the helicopters as 'military' and 'Army', as the U.S. Army certainly has CH-47s (the flying schoolbus, we called it).

Falcon Lake UFO - Stephen Michalak

https://unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/Falcon_Lake_UFO

Apparently it’s my role in life to play the killjoy and point out that Michalak (http://www.theironskeptic.com/articles/michalak/michalak.htm)was drunk as a skunk and likely deliberately burned himself.

They were attention seekers/out for a buck



explained here


https://badufos.blogspot.com/2013/11/between-beer-joint-and-some-kind-of.html?m=1

Another thing I always found odd about the story is that CH-47s are not attack helicopters. They lift personnel and equipment and are typically only armed with machine guns. Why would 23 of these things be tailing a UFO? Whether it posed a threat or whether it was an asset in need of protection, one might surmise it'd be followed by something with a lot more teeth than a lumbering, poorly armed Chinook.

Apparently it’s my role in life to play the killjoy and point out that Michalak (http://www.theironskeptic.com/articles/michalak/michalak.htm)was drunk as a skunk and likely deliberately burned himself.

http://www.theironskeptic.com/articles/michalak/michalak.htm

They were attention seekers/out for a buck

What I don't understand is that if this was a hoax to scam money out of the government, why not fake an injury at work or something more believable than being burned by a UFO being trailed by the Air Force? It just doesn't make any sense. I think they saw something that night (perhaps a test flight by the Air Force or an airplane since the airport was close to this sighting) and got sick after the sighting and legitimately believed that this was some sort of "agent orange" type situation and exaggerated their stories (and maybe staged some of their injuries) to make it more believable.

The case was featured on Beyond the Unknown, mentioning only Betty and not the two others in the car, perhaps for reasons of length. It was said to be one of the most persuasive UFO cases.

The Cash/Landrum incident was featured on the episode of Ancient Aliens dealing with Men in Black, including an interview with Colby Landrum and pictures of all three people involved.

On an episode of Paranormal Declassified dealing with cattle mutilations, an informant named Richard Doty said the Cash/Landrum incident was in fact a craft reverse engineered from an alien spacecraft which he saw personally at Area 51, which they didn't get quite right, resulting in the incident. If so, the statement, "I don't believe in the little green men. I think that thing was put there by our government" was half right anyway.

WOW an older topic that WASN'T resurrected by Latka Gravas

What I don't understand is that if this was a hoax to scam money out of the government, why not fake an injury at work or something more believable than being burned by a UFO being trailed by the Air Force? It just doesn't make any sense. I think they saw something that night (perhaps a test flight by the Air Force or an airplane since the airport was close to this sighting) and got sick after the sighting and legitimately believed that this was some sort of "agent orange" type situation and exaggerated their stories (and maybe staged some of their injuries) to make it more believable.

The only thing I can say about that is it’s hard to fake an injury like a slip and fall or other accident since you ultimately have to prove the injury itself (broken arm/leg herniated disc). Faking illness especially when you already had some prior medical issues and making up a UFO story is probably easier ironically. But of course in the end it’s just her word without any evidence.

Real or not, I really felt for the characters in this segment especially when the little boy cried out for his Grandma.

I always thought they doused themselves in solvent to make the burns. None of them died of radiation poisoning or anything to suggest a UFO encounter really.

I always thought they doused themselves in solvent to make the burns. None of them died of radiation poisoning or anything to suggest a UFO encounter really.

People are way to quick to come to conclusions like this anymore for incidents they just can't explain. Given the health problems they had to think its normal for people to go through that just for money or attention is highly questionable at best. Impossible? No, anything is possible. Unlikely? Yes.

Two old ladies and a kid going after the government for money from a staged incident is pretty far fetched.

People are way to quick to come to conclusions like this anymore for incidents they just can't explain. Given the health problems they had to think its normal for people to go through that just for money or attention is highly questionable at best. Impossible? No, anything is possible. Unlikely? Yes.

Two old ladies and a kid going after the government for money from a staged incident is pretty far fetched.

What health problems? The two women lived for decades after the incident with no lingering issues. Sure they claimed they were sick, but no medical source could corroborate it. The UM segment presents Cash's death as if it had to do with the encounter, but this simply isn't so. She had heart problems that preceded the encounter. I also need to point out no trace of radiation was found concerning their car. Having worked with the public, the lengths people go to for money wouldn't surprise me.

People are way to quick to come to conclusions like this anymore for incidents they just can't explain. Given the health problems they had to think its normal for people to go through that just for money or attention is highly questionable at best. Impossible? No, anything is possible. Unlikely? Yes.

Two old ladies and a kid going after the government for money from a staged incident is pretty far fetched.

It is sadly a part of human nature for some-look at the people who put in false claims after disasters for compensation payouts & sometimes attention-claiming they were in the twin towers on 9/11, in Grenfell Tower, Zeebrugge Ferry Disaster, survived a concentration camp in WW2 etc.

What health problems? The two women lived for decades after the incident with no lingering issues. Sure they claimed they were sick, but no medical source could corroborate it. The UM segment presents Cash's death as if it had to do with the encounter, but this simply isn't so. She had heart problems that preceded the encounter. I also need to point out no trace of radiation was found concerning their car. Having worked with the public, the lengths people go to for money wouldn't surprise me.

The most suspicious thing is Cash refused to release her medical records, all that was found during the extensive military investigation was her blood & X-Rays all showed normal, no radiation detected & if they had been exposed to the levels of radiation they claimed they would have been dead within a short period. She blamed getting breast cancer on the supposed incident, which is ludicrous. Landrum got cataracts-also not an uncommon malaise. The supposed burns on Cash were not found during her hospital stay according to the doctors notes, only later-when she appeared on a television show in 1981-indicating she had created them herself prior to the show.

The lad seems to be doing alright for himself today with no obvious serious health problems. Cash had Alopecia areata which caused her hair & nail loss, this was confirmed by multiple experts who examined & tested her. Landrum later claimed the same issues-but never sough medical help or offered any proof of them. Both women clearly also lied about the helicopters during their interview at Bergstrom AFB in an attempt to win money. Most likely they had seen Close Encounters & invented this story to obtain money under false pretences. Cash lived until nearly 70, Landrum into her eighties.

Looking back on it now, the unexplained stuff just feels like filler to not be an America's Most Wanted clone.

It is sadly a part of human nature for some-look at the people who put in false claims after disasters for compensation payouts & sometimes attention-claiming they were in the twin towers on 9/11, in Grenfell Tower, Zeebrugge Ferry Disaster, survived a concentration camp in WW2 etc.

Like I said, not saying its impossible. Just that I've observed that blame the victim or hoax conclusions seems to be a trend on this board for cases they really can't explain.

Bottom line is, none of us were there so we don't know for sure.

Maybe it is just nostalgia for the sexy explanations for things that we considered as kids when we first watched all these stories, but I still am a pretty open minded person unless there is so much info available about a case to where its blatantly obvious what happened. I personally don't think this is one of those, but to each their own.

I don't doubt that the women probably made a lot of this up - one thing I don't think anyone's gave much thought to is the other witness from the segment, an older, retired police officer. That plus the damage to the roadway would seem to complicate Cash/Landrum's fabrication.

I don't doubt that the women probably made a lot of this up - one thing I don't think anyone's gave much thought to is the other witness from the segment, an older, retired police officer. That plus the damage to the roadway would seem to complicate Cash/Landrum's fabrication.

Not really-since they had no clue where the incident was supposed to have happened, there were no photos of the supposed huge damage taken & the man pushing it was a MUFON guy who wrote a book on it where he conveniently omitted information that pointed towards a hoax.

https://skepticalinquirer.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2014/03/p28.pdf

When I was young, I would read about UFO sightings, look at the grainy photos and films and think “Wow!” Now I’m not really interested because I’ve decided they were bunk - either never happened or some other rational explanation that doesn’t involve extraterrestrial life and machinery.

People make up stories daily in an attempt to go "viral" on social media. This was something similar done in the pre-social media age.

This story shows you that hoaxers/attention seekers are not how you always imagine them.

UFO Hunters did an great job looking into this case and it’s does look like Colby has move on with his life

Also one things that keeps on getting overlook by the skeptics that there would others witnesses who saw the craft that night too